In Extremis
"In Extremis" is the 20th episode of season 2, and the 43rd produced hour of Person of Interest. It originally aired on April 25, 2013. Synopsis 2004 Stills goes looking for his partner and finds Fusco drinking alone in a bar at closing time. When Stills offers to take him home, Fusco says that his wife has filed for divorce and is asking for full custody of their son. Stills offers to put him up at his place and Fusco accepts. Stills calls Fusco after a drug rip off gone bad and explains that the dealer they were holding up for money wouldn't play along, so they shot him. Fusco is reluctant to help them, but Stills reminds him of their friendship and how he helped him when his wife dumped him. Fusco reluctantly agrees to help and shows them how to make it look like a legitimate shooting. 2005 March 25, 00:19 Stills calls Fusco in on another drug rip off gone bad. When Fusco arrives, he sees that Stills and Azarello have killed several people. Fusco refuses to help them but another dealer hiding in the closet jumps out and attacks them and Fusco kills him in self-defense. Stills gives Fusco some of the drug money and welcomes him to their crew. 2011 Sep 23 Fusco drags Detective Stills' corpse into the woods of Oyster Bay. Crying, he buries Stills in a shallow grave. 2013 The Machine monitors Azarello as he makes a deal with the IAB to tell them everything they need to know about Fusco and his connections to HR. Booker University is holding an award ceremony for famous cardiologist Dr. Richard Nelson, and Reese works the room posing as a waiter. While Finch briefs Reese on Nelson, the doctor gets up to accept his award as a professor emeritus and notices his daughter Molly sitting at the bar. The NYPD turns out in force for the funeral of Cal Beecher. His godfather, Alonzo Quinn, gives the eulogy while Fusco, Simmons and Carter all watch. After Nelson accepts his award, Molly walks out. When Nelson starts to go after her, he is intercepted by Brandon Boyd, a hedge fund trader with VAC Capital, and Dr. Garrett Rossmore, both of whom offer him a drink. Nelson apologizes to Rossmore for the decision of Nelson's independent review board that recommended halting the trials of a new statin developed by Philia pharmacuticals. After the funeral, Fusco goes over to Simmons and accuses HR of being behind Cal's murder. When Fusco promises to take them down for the shooting, Simmons tells Fusco that he no longer has HR's protection, and informs him that Azarello has tipped off IAB about Fusco's connection to several murders. As Nelson receives his congratulations from his protege, his nose suddenly begins to bleed. Reese comes over and gives Nelson a napkin, while Finch checks on Molly and learns that she has an arrest record for assaulting a policeman at a campus demonstration. Nelson begins to stumble and drops his glass, and Reese helps him to a chair. Reese informs Finch of Nelson's symptoms. At the police station, IAB Detective Joseph Soriano approaches Fusco and tells him to hand over his badge and his gun. Once Soriano locks Fusco up in an interrogation room, Carter goes in and asks him what's going on. Fusco tells her that it's none of her business and reminds her that when he tried to explain before, she said that she didn't want to hear him out. He advises Carter to stay away from him for her own sake. Carter gets a call from Finch and reluctantly steps out to take it. Finch offers his condolences on Cal's death and she wonders why they couldn't save him. Finch admits that he's not sure why and then asks for her help, but Carter refuses, saying she wants Finch to help her for once and show her how to clone a phone. Nelson goes to his university lab and calls Molly, thanking her for showing up. When she objects to his work for the university, Nelson reminds her that it's the university that pays his salary and lets her keep a roof over her head. When his nose starts bleeding again, Nelson tells Molly that he'll get back to her. He starts vomiting up blood, unaware that Reese is watching him from across the street. Weakening by the moment, Nelson calls 911 and tells the operator that someone has poisoned him. As he staggers outside, Reese approaches him but the doctor assumes that he's connected to the poisoning. The police arrive in response to the 911 call and Reese moves off before they can spot him. As the officers take Nelson to the hospital, Reese informs Finch that he may have arrived too late to save Nelson. Soriano tells Fusco that they've received a tip that he's connected to Stills' disappearance. He wonders what Fusco's connection is to Stills, and Fusco says that they worked together coming up. He ended up in Homicide while Stills went into Narcotics. Finch checks Nelson's lab with a Geiger counter and Reese recognizes Nelson's symptoms as the result of polonium poisoning. The substance has to be ingested and is fatal if not treated within an hour of administration. Reese goes to the hospital and meets with Nelson, telling him that he's there to help. However, Reese admits that there's no cure for polonium poison after the first hour, and that Nelson has less then 24 hours to live. Nelson wonders what he can do and Reese suggests that they look for his killer. Once Nelson leaves the hospital, Reese advises him to get his affairs in honor. They visit Molly, and Nelson apologizes to her for his mistakes, and tells her that the thing in his life he is most proud of is her. Carter listens in on a cloned phone as Soriano tells Fusco that Azarello is claiming that Fusco was his inside man with Homicide. He has a video of Azarello explaining how Fusco worked with him and Stills. Fusco denies it, saying that Azarello is lying, but Soriano says that Azarello has provided them with all the details they need. Carter goes to Rikers to visit Azarello and wonders why he's talking now after he's been in jail for a year. Azarello refuses to cooperate or answer when Carter asks about his involvement with HR, but hints that Stills' body may turn up. Later, Finch calls Carter, who informs him that Boyd's company, VAC Capital, is under SEC investigation. VAC is accused of insider training after they sold their Philia stock just before the drug trial was halted. Finch passes the information on to Reese, and Nelson admits that VAC handles his moneys. The doctor admits that he told Boyd that the board was going to refuse Rossmore's recommendation, and Reese tells him that Boyd made $500 million from the inside info. The SEC investigation hasn't turned up Nelson's role--yet--and Reese figures that the company will eliminate Nelson to protect themselves. Nelson blames himself and figures that he deserves to die, but Reese tells him that he doesn't. The doctor says that he needs to talk to Boyd. Finch goes to the ceremony room and uses his Geiger counter to confirm that the water that Nelson drank at the podium was poisoned. He tells Reese, who confirms that only he and the waitress had access to the water... and he knows who hired the waitress. Boyd is leaving a nightclub and retrieves his car from Reese who is pretending to be the valet. Reese knocks out Boyd and shoves him to Nelson who is waiting in the back. Reese passes Nelson a gun and Nelson holds Boyd at gunpoint and Boyd admits that his boss, Vincent Cochran, was the one he told about Nelson. However, Boyd insists that he didn't know anything about the poisoning. He admits that he told Cochran, and Cochran said he would take care of Nelson. Nelson demands to know where they can find Cochran and Boyd finally directs him to an upstate lodge called the Wingcrest. At the station, Soriano tells Fusco that IAB knows that he moved onto bigger things (murder) with Stills and Azarello. Soriano tells Fusco that Azarello has told them what he did to Stills, and that they found bleach stains in the trunk of the car that Fusco checked out the day that Stills disappeared. Soriano figures that Fusco wiped it down to remove DNA evidence of the murder. He then shows him the phone records they have showing that Fusco made a call from Oyster Bay at 2 A.M on the night that Stills vanished. Finally, Soriano shows Fusco satellite photos of the Oyster Bay area showing all of the spots where there is freshly-turned dirt. He tells Fusco that in the morning they're going to search Oyster Bay for Stills' body. Carter, meanwhile, has been listening in on the whole conversation. Fusco goes to the restroom to wash his hands and finds Carter waiting for him. He tells her that he didn't kill Stills but that he's going to go down for it for the other things he did. He admits that he used to work with Stills and gradually became a dirty cop, but he's now changed. Carter tells him to stop, furious, and says that she doesn't know who he is anymore. Reese drives Nelson and Boyd to the lodge, and Nelson suddenly passes out. Reese pulls him over, gets him out of the car, and gives him a shot of adrenaline. Once Nelson wakes up, Reese tells him that he has to stay alive long enough to complete on more mission and then then gets him into the car. When Boyd wonders what they're going to do with him, Reese knocks him out, leaves him on the road, and drves off with Nelson. At the lodge, Nelson sits down next to Cochran, who is having a drink and relaxing. When Cochran wonders who he is, Nelson says that he's his victim. Carter calls Reese as he goes through the wine cellar at the lodge. She asks how he's going to help Fusco and Reese says that he doesn't plan to do anything. He reminds her that Fusco is her partner, and Carter wonders if he knows what Fusco has done. When she says that Fusco deserves to be behind bars, Reese says that she'll have to decide what to do, if she does anything. Reese hangs up and Carter wonders what to do next. Nelson explains to Cochran how polonium affects the human body, and tells Cochran that he knows the man doesn't care about investing in medical research. Cochran says that all he did was dump the loser, and he never loses. Nelson says that he made a lot of mistakes but he doesn't deserve to die. Cochran tells Nelson that the SEC investigation will die with Nelson, but Nelson says that he won't be the only one dying. He points out that Cochran's nose is bleeding and Reese, dressed as the waiter who brought Cochran his drink, hands him a napkin. Nelson tells his killer that he has twenty-four hours to spend his billions and suggests that he do it wisely. The next morning, Soriano drives Fusco out to Oyster Bay. Simmons accompanies them, and Soriano tells Fusco that he's helpless and no one cares about him. Nelson calls Molly from the lodge and he comforts her about a recent breakup. The doctor says goodbye and Reese brings him a drink of the Scotch. Nelson thanks him for giving him one last chance and then dies, and Reese tells Finch that they've lost Nelson. They both wonder why The Machine didn't warn them in time to save Nelson, and Reese wonders who else they're missing. As Simmons accompanies Fusco to a digging site, he tells Fusco that he's as good as dead. The police dogs have sniffed out a corpse but the officers have discovered that someone recently dug up the site. Soriano promises to connect Fusco to Stills' death, but Fusco insists that he's not a dirty cop and asks for his badge and gun back. When Reese returns to the headquarters, Finch tells him that Fusco has been released. He has talked with Elias in Rikers, and the Elias has "convinced" Azarello to recant his testimony against Fusco. Finch then brings up a monitor showing the progress of the virus attacking The Machine. Reese notices that Bear is gone, and Finch tells him that there is another matter they need to discuss. Fusco returns to the station and Carter comes over and hands him a file. She says that she wants another set of eyes on it, but that she's tired after a long night. She walks off with Bear, both of them leaving muddy footprints, implying she dug up Stills' body. Fusco looks through the file and discovers that it has all of the information on Cal's death. The Machine tries to watch him on the station cameras, but it shuts down due to the virus and its primary systems go offline. Episode Notes *"In extremis" is a Latin phrase, which refers to extreme conditions or finality. * At the beginning of the episode, Dr. Nelson is being awarded Emeritus status. In academia, an emeritus professor is one who has retired with merit, that is, with a substantial body of work. The title is an honorific accorded by colleagues rather than academic standing. The show appears to be portraying the status as being awarded to Nelson before retirement, which would be erroneous. *Dr. Nelson was poisoned with polonium, a radioactive element. Similar to uranium, it is also highly toxic, and can kill through exposure or ingestion. *The Domain Awareness System used by IAB to find the disturbed ground was developed by the New York Police Department in collaboration with Microsoft. Its objective is to harness and analyze video feeds, license plate reader output and other data sources as part of an on-going anti-terrorism initiative. This system has several eerily similar attributes of the Machine, as detailed in a Nova report of the Boston Marathon bombings. Trivia *The person of interest is a dying man trying to solve his own murder. This plot line is a variation on a theme from the film D.O.A (1950). In the film, the protagonist was poisoned with a luminous toxin (most likely radioactive). *Coincidentally, Dennis Boutsikaris, who plays this week's person of interest, recently played a character in similar circumstances on CBS's Elementary, in the episode "Possibility Two". Elementary, a contemporary reimagination of "Sherlock Holmes", is broadcast immediately following Person of Interest and also is set and filmed in New York. *In 2006, Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian intelligence operative, died in a manner similar to Dr. Nelson when unknowingly ingested a lethal dose of Polonium-210. *According to Business Insider , the fictional hedge fund in this episode, VAC Capital, bears some similarity to a company based in Stamford, Connecticut called SAC capital, which is under investigation for insider trading of certain pharmaceutical companies. Dramatic Elements *'Juxtaposition', the act of placing or positioning abstract elements side-by-side or back-to-back to illustrate a contrast or contradiction, is used in this episode to transition from the scene showing, the respected but flawed, Dr. Nelson being honored to the scene of Cal Beecher's funeral. To create a sense of irony, the two characters recited quotations from the Greek philosopher Plato, which define their characters while bridging the two scenes, setting up the contrast between the good, but dying doctor and the bad but living Alonzo Quinn, who set in motion the chain of events that led to the demise of his godson. *The story of Fusco's past with Stills also uses juxtaposition and irony, this time to contrast the good cop Fusco has become with the bad cop he was. In both cases, the irony was that he was forced by circumstances to change, first by Stills and later by Reese and Finch. Quotes * "Domain awareness, my friend. Satellites, they're changing the world. You pick a time and place, we send you a photo of the ass hairs on a frog, or in this case, disturbed plots of earth in Oyster Bay." - Det. Soriano (Internal Affairs Bureau) to Det. Fusco * "Knowledge is the food of the soul." -Plato, quoted by Dr. Nelson * "He who commits injustice is ever made more wretched than he who suffers it." -Plato, quoted by Alonzo Quinn * "There are people who want to see you go down, and people who don't give a crap about you. And Fusco, I don't think anyone gives a crap about you." - Det. Soriano to Det. Fusco * "If you will excuse me, I got a date with a sock" - Azerello Category:Episodes Category:Season 2